Tottenham’s Mark Lambie, 40, was on Operation Trident’s “most wanted” list when he was jailed for 12 years at the Old Bailey in 2002 for the kidnap and torture of two men in north London.

Lambie, who was famously cleared of the murder of PC Keith Blakelock during the 1985 Broadwater Farm riots, was released from jail on licence in 2009, but recalled after he was linked to an alleged blackmail incident in Manchester.

From his jail cell in HMP Swaleside, in Kent, Lambie is now claiming a parole board decision to keep him in prison is “irrational” and he should be freed.

In its decision, the parole board described how Lambie’s gang kidnapped two men in 2001 and took them to a flat in Tottenham, where they were hit with a hammer. The prosecution also alleged they were burnt with an iron and had boiling water poured on their genitals.

After serving half of his sentence, Lambie was released on licence in 2009, but was returned to prison less than a year later after he was linked with a blackmail allegation in Manchester, for which no charges were brought.

Rejecting his case for release in October last year, the parole board found: “You are assessed as posing a high risk of harm to members of the public.”

Lambie, who has 42 previous convictions, is now applying for a judicial review of the parole board’s decision not to recommend his release.